Cowboys accomplish little in losing to San Francisco

Updated 12:47 pm, Monday, August 24, 2015

San Francisco tackle Mike Purcell celebrates his 37-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 49ers’ win over the Cowboys.

San Francisco tackle Mike Purcell celebrates his 37-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 49ers’ win over the Cowboys.

Photo: Brian Bahr / Getty Images

Cowboys accomplish little in loss to 49ers

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Before assessing the play of the Dallas Cowboys in the preseason, it must be noted that they were winless in the exhibition season last year, leaving no hint of the breakthough 12-4 regular season to come.

They still could return to Levi’s Stadium for Super Bowl 50 after the season.

But that’s a long way off, and the Cowboys have a lot of growing to do.

As of now, the Cowboys have little to be happy about after Sunday’s 23-6 preseason loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

The Cowboys threw three interceptions — including a 37-yard return for a touchdown by nose tackle Mike Purcell — had a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, and displayed a leaky run defense and a suspect punt coverage unit.

The offensive line, which played without three injured injured starters in tackle Tyron Smith and guards Zack Martin and Ron Leary, was bad. They allowed four sacks.

The offense, which was again without an injured Dez Bryant, was bad for a second consecutive week.

The Cowboys didn’t get much done in a 17-7 preseason opening loss to the San Diego Chargers.

They were worse against the 49ers, opening the game with four consecutive three-and-out series.

Third-string quarterback Dustin Vaughan completed an 8-yard pass to tight end Gavin Escobar, giving them their first first down with 9:09 left in the first half.

Two plays later, a pressured Vaughan threw the ball right into the hands of Purcell, who lumbered into the end zone.

Vaughan, who was in the game early because backup Brandon Weeden was forced out after three series of work with a concussion, threw another pick two possessions later.

“We didn’t get much going on offense early on in this ballgame, and that’s disappointing,” Garrett said. “They controlled the line of scrimmage, and we didn’t make very many first downs with that unit. I felt we moved it a little better as it went on, but the turnovers in the second quarter killed us.”

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Cowboys

key dates

Friday: Break camp in Oxnard, Calif.

Saturday: Preseason game vs. Vikings, 6 p.m., KMYS

Sept. 3: Preseason game vs. Texans, 7 p.m., KABB, WOAI

Sept. 13: Regular-season opener vs. Giants, 7:30 p.m., NBC

Romo sat out last week’s game at San Diego, so the Cowboys wanted to get him some playing time on the field.

But they never planned on him being out there long or risking an injury because of the backup line and concerns about the turf, which Cowboys owner Jerry Jones complained about last week.

“It’s always good to get out and play,” Romo said. “I would have liked to go a little longer, but we were just going to go the one series. I pushed to get back in, but the coaches have a plan.”

Jones, speaking outside the Dallas locker room, apologized to the 49ers after Sunday’s game, saying that the field was “a great playing surface,” the Associated Press reported.

Vaughan completed 7 of 16 passes for 84 yards and had a quarterback rating of just 20.8.

The best news on offense was the play of running back Joseph Randle, who missing practice earlier in the week with a strained oblique. He had seven carries for 30 yards behind the second- and third-string offensive line.